


Hidden Relics

by Burning_Nightingale



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Archaeology, First Meetings, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 19:43:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14456409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burning_Nightingale/pseuds/Burning_Nightingale
Summary: When Aphra goes searching for Sith relics on Malachor, she gets more than she bargained for.





	Hidden Relics

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Froggimus_Rex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Froggimus_Rex/gifts).



> Hope you enjoy, recip!

Back on Kimchek, when she’d been low on funds and desperate to pay off all her looming bills, Malachor had seemed like a great idea. Aphra could picture herself as she had been the day she set off, walking confidently up the ramp while telling B-3, “Malachor! Creepy abandoned Sith temple equals a big, easy payday, my friend!”

Looking down at it now, Aphra wondered if she hadn’t made a mistake.

The planet’s surface was a grey, dead wasteland of blasted dust. Her scans showed something that rose above the planet’s surface in the distance, but judging by everything else she’d seen, she wasn’t hopeful.

Aphra internally calculated the cost of the fuel she’d used to get here as she flew the ship towards the anomalous outcropping, wincing as she worked out how much she now had in her bank account. It just seemed to keep dropping, and the clock on her debts was ticking.

The horizon began to take shape, something ahead protruding from the flat desert. As she neared Aphra could make out the remains of a huge caldera, an enormous rock formation that dominated the landscape around it. _Well, that’s something_ , she thought, angling the ship toward it.

Inside the caldera, a flat, level surface had grown up in place of the bowl-shape Aphra had expected. Even without the confirmation from her scans, Aphra knew the flat surface was covering something over, something hidden in the bowl of the caldera.

_Bingo? Maybe? I hope that surface is strong enough to hold the ship._

It was. The ship settled on her landing gear, humming and creaking as she powered down, and Aphra pulled on her coat. The atmosphere outside was breathable, just about, though cold; she wouldn’t want to stay outside too long.

She found herself pausing on the ramp, looking out over the flat grey plain, a twist of warning in her belly. B-3 made a low, nervous noise at her side, and she patted his head absently. She could see something in the distance; something that looked like several towering black monoliths.

She patted B-3 on the head again. “Wait here,” she told him, “I’ll be back with a boatload of priceless Sith artifacts before you even need to charge your batteries!”

B-3 gave a dubious whistle, obviously seeing through her forced cheery tone, but stayed in place and watched as Aphra stepped off the ramp and struck out across the dry wasteland.

/

On the one hand, Aphra had guessed correctly; hidden in the bowl of the caldera was a treasure trove of Sith archaeology, including a full _temple_ , of all things. Just _pictures_ of this place would be enough to put a fat wad of credits in her hand, let alone the artifacts. And the floor was just _crawling_ with lightsabers.

On the other hand, she’d also guessed wrong, because she had the distinct feeling this place wasn’t going to be an easy score. It seemed deserted, so far as her eyes and ears could tell; but there was this itching feeling on the back of her neck, the same one she got when she knew something wasn’t right.

“Probably being watched by creepy Sith ghosts,” she muttered to herself, and lent down to put another of the old lightsabers into her bag. They always fetched good money if you knew the right buyer, and she could jack the price up even more for these _ancient_ examples. She planned to take as many as she could carry, and test whether or not they worked back on the ship; somehow she sensed it would be a bad idea to draw attention to herself right now.

She worked her way across the room, picking up the lightsabers and anything else that looked interesting, making for the looming shape of the temple in the back.

Standing at the base, Aphra could see it had clearly been designed so that only someone with the Force could climb it unaided; she would need a lot more equipment with her to make to the top. She stood at the bottom for a long while, hands on hips, following the lines and curves of the structure, trying to figure out the path to the top.

After ten or so minutes, she thought she had it. Satisfied, she reached into her bag to bring out her holocamera; she could round off her trip by snapping some pictures as proof, and then selling them to whichever university, treasure hunter or other interested party wanted them enough to part with a decent amount of cash.

Behind her, there came the unmistakable _snap-hiss_ of a lightsaber igniting.

Aphra’s stomach dropped. Slowly, she raised her hands. “Er, hi?” she tried. When she received no response, she said, “I’m, er, just researching ancient Sith temples. No taking things. _Definitely_ no looting.”

She thought she heard a smothered snort of laughter. “I don’t mind you looting Sith artifacts,” a woman’s voice said.

“Oh. Good! I mean-” Aphra cleared her throat, “I’m sure there’s enough down here to share. If the loot’s what you’re here for.”

Again, a slight laugh. “No, my reason for being here is pretty different.”

“Okay,” Aphra said slowly, “So, er  - truce? I’m just, y’know, trying to work out why you’ve got a lightsaber levelled at my neck.”

“Always best to be cautious, down here,” the woman said, “But if all you want is relics, I have a proposition for you.”

Weird, but Aphra would take it. “Oh yeah?”

“Loot as many Sith relics as you like,” the woman said, “I’ll even tell you where the really interesting stuff is. On one condition; when you’re done, you take one old Jedi relic with you too.”

Aphra’s heart was pumping wildly; she could feel the heat from the lightsaber close to the back of her neck. “Sounds like a good deal,” she said, swallowing hard, “What relic did you have in mind?”

The heat moved away, and Aphra heard footsteps. A togruta woman stepped into view in front of her, a white lightsaber ignited in her hand.

“This Jedi relic,” she said, her mouth pulling into a slight grin as she indicated herself. “I need off this planet. That’s all.”

Aphra felt the beginnings of relief in her chest. “Well,” she said, licking her dry lips, “If that’s all you need, we might be in business.”


End file.
